BYU football: It's not perfect, but Cougars open with win

PROVO — Well into the fourth quarter Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium, No. 16 BYU was nursing a tenuous 10-point lead against Northern Iowa.

Not exactly what the Cougars had in mind when they declared 2008 the "Quest for Perfection."

Yes, it was a far-from-perfect season-opener, but BYU exploded for a pair of touchdowns in the span of about 90 seconds in the fourth quarter to secure a 41-17 triumph Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

The Cougars committed plenty of gaffes against the gritty Panthers — the offense coughed up four second-half fumbles, the special teams had an extra point blocked, and the defense surrendered 69-yard running play and a 76-yard passing play on a double-reverse pass (reminiscent of last year's nightmarish loss at Tulsa).

Despite all of that, coach Bronco Mendenhall was downright serene afterwards.

"We made enough plays to win and I think we showed signs of being the kind of team we're capable of being," he said. "We also saw enough mistakes and things to improve on that we can certainly leverage and improve next week and for the rest of the year. I give Northern Iowa credit. I think they're a very good team. It was a hard-fought contest and one that we learned a lot from today."

Defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen hinted that maybe the Cougars entered the game a little overconfident. "We made some big mistakes out there," he said. "It could have been a little overconfidence.

It's a humbling experience. It showed we have to work on the little things in practice."

In the first half, the Cougars cruised to a 27-3 halftime advantage. But the third quarter and early part of the fourth bordered on disastrous. They lost fumbles on three of their first four possessions in the second half and allowed Northern Iowa to get a cleat back in the door.

The most costly error, and, for BYU, the scariest moment, came when quarterback Max Hall was blindsided in the end zone by Panther defensive end James Ruffin. Hall fumbled the ball and Mark Huygens pounced on it for the touchdown. That made the score 27-17 with about six minutes left in the third.

"Obviously in the third quarter, we shot ourselves in the foot a few times," said tight end Dennis Pitta, who caught a career-high 11 passes for 213 yards. "But we can't discredit Northern Iowa. I think they did a great job. They forced a lot of those fumbles. We need to clean up that part."